Smiling cartoon turtle walking by lily pads, cattails, reeds, clouds, and pond ripples.

Smiling Turtle by the Cattail Pond

A cheerful turtle steps along a pond bank beside blooming lily pads, tall cattails, curling reeds, and soft puffy clouds.

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🎨 How to color it

Color the turtle’s shell in moss green and amber, the lily flowers in soft pink, the cattails in cocoa brown, and the pond in pale blue. Use sharp colored pencils for the many shell plates and reed tips, then switch to broader strokes for the water and clouds. Try making every other shell patch a little brighter, as if the turtle is carrying tiny sunlit pond islands on its back.

The story behind this coloring page

Orrin Shares the First Shell — At the bend of the reed pond, Orrin scooped a warm sunbeam onto his back and hurried past the cattails. Read the full story →

At the bend of the reed pond, Orrin scooped a warm sunbeam onto his back and hurried past the cattails. He wanted to carry it to his mossy nook before the evening frogs began their rubber-band songs. The beam felt golden and tickly, and he did not plan to share it with anyone.

Then a cloud-sprite tumbled from a low puff of sky and landed on a lily pad with a cold little plip. “My cloud forgot me,” she whispered, shaking like rain on a leaf. Orrin looked at his sunbeam. You know this part is secret: joy that warm does not stay quiet. He tipped his back, and the sunbeam broke into bright plates, enough for the sprite, the lilies, and Orrin too. Ever since, turtles have carried patterned shells, so big gladness can be shared in pieces. Next time you spot Orrin’s shell by the cattails, count the sunny pieces and keep one for a friend.